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Saucon Valley teacher contract proposals by the numbers

saucon valley salary schedules

The Saucon Valley School Board created salary schedules to show what teachers would be paid under their latest contract proposal versus their prior proposal. This graph shows the difference in pay for hypothetical teachers under each contract proposal. Find an interactive version at the bottom of this post.
(lehighvalleylive graphic | ALYSSA PASSEGGIO)

The school board has balked at the union's latest contract proposal, saying it increases salary and benefit costs by $7 million over six years. The board supports a four-year deal that grows pay and benefits by $1.5 million.

Muir argues that the recent teacher proposal only increases payroll costs by 3 percent. He wants to meet with the school board and overhaul the existing salary schedule.

To show the financial impact of the latest proposal, the school board has created six years of salary schedules that show raises ranging from 6 percent to a high of 21 percent.

Muir contests the figures and says the board is dealing in hypotheticals that don't reflect what he's asking for. He urged the board back to the table.

"I think they create very improbable scenarios in an effort to negotiate publicly and sway public opinion," Muir said. "It is really hard for the school board to argue the teachers' proposal is not affordable."

The latest offer from teachers calls for increasing every cell of the schedule by 3 percent -- essentially a cost-of living-increase -- but that figure doesn't accurately reflect the raises teachers would receive, according to the board.

"When (Muir) gets up there and says we only want 3 percent, I don't care what kind of salary schedule he comes up with, he is being somewhat misleading," said Ed Inghrim, the school board's treasurer and negotiating team member. "No schedule will result in only 3 percent raises."

Scaling the salary schedule

When teacher contracts are settled, often overall percentage figures are reported that critics say ignore the realities of the pay system. Teacher pay is based on a unique salary schedule that takes into account years of service and education, allowing teachers to earn multiple raises in some years.

Under the expired contract, the starting salary for a new teacher is $44,232 while the top salary is $93,072. By the final year of the teachers' new proposed six-year deal, new teachers would be paid $52,815 and the most experienced, educated teachers would earn $111,133, according to board calculations.

The prior four-year contract proposal teachers submitted to an independent fact finder would have boosted starting salaries to $46,288 and the top pay to $94,027.

In 2012-13, salaries and benefits accounted for 69 percent of Saucon's budget.

Teacher compensation differs from the market-driven private sector in many ways for good reason, Muir notes. Private-sector employees receive annual raises, bonuses and promotions, he said.

"There is no way in the teaching ranks for a teacher to get a promotion," Muir said. "Because teachers don't have formal promotions, teachers get rewarded for time on the job."

If they accepted the new contract proposal, Saucon officials say, they'd have to raise taxes 36 percent, or dip into the district's $13 million savings account.

Saucon board members love to pretend the district is in a fiscal crisis, Muir said, but it is just political rhetoric. Boards often ignore other budget drivers, like facility upkeep and inflation, and blame tax hikes on teachers, he said.

The association already had brought a new salary schedule into fact-finding that took board concerns into consideration, Inghrim said.

"They clearly were moving in a direction I think was representing the overall interests of the school district," Inghrim said.

The fact-finder's report recommended the board adopt the teachers' salary schedule but phase some of the raises in halfway through the year. The board had agreed to that.

"It's unfortunate our union is so divided," said Inghrim, who thinks the mid-year raises were the death knell. "We came so close to getting closure."

Breaking out the numbers

When a teacher moves a step on the pay scale, it means they are given a longevity raise. Board calculations, based upon the latest teacher proposal, show advancing one step nets a 6.2 percent raise each year of the deal. If teachers also move a column -- a raise rewarding educational attainment -- they will see anywhere from 9.4 percent to 11.8 percent raises depending on where they fall.

Moving one step and two columns results in raises of 12.7 percent to 17.7 percent each year. Advancing one step and three columns in a year amounts to a teacher raise of 18.3 percent to 21.2 percent.

Since Saucon teachers have been working under an expired contract, teachers may jump multiple columns and steps when a new deal is reached, Inghrim said. Throughout negotiations, the school board has been trying to limit the ability of teachers to leap several columns and steps in a year.

The teacher contract proposal submitted to fact-finding was acceptable to the board because it reins in such big pay jumps. It first would freeze salaries in 2012-13, then allow every employee to move one step and one column the next year and then give a $1,500 stipend in the third year but no movement. The final year would increase every cell by $950 and allow teachers to again move one column and one step.

To understand the nuances of the system, you can look at how a hypothetical teacher's pay could increase under the two different contract proposals. This teacher is fresh out of college with her master's degree and it is her first year on the job.

Under the old teacher proposal, she starts out at $49,010 per year and, after four years of only moving as permitted for years of service, is making $53,039. That is a 2.1 percent increase each year, or a raise of $4,029.

With the new proposal, that same employee starts at $49,010 and moves just one step -- a longevity raise -- per year, according to board calculations. Her salary in 2015-16 would be $62,309, or a 6.8 percent annual raise.

The figures change when adding in raises for educational attainment as well as length of service. A teacher with a master's degree and two years with a district would be starting out at $50,526 under the expired contract, according to board calculations.

Under the prior proposal, he would be making $61,390 in the final year, having received a 5.4 percent raise each year.

If that same teacher moved one step each year and jumped columns three out of four years, his salary would be $75,845 after four years, according to a salary schedule provided by the board. That is a 12.5 percent raise each year.

Union says many Saucon teachers underpaid

Muir disputes the new proposed schedule.

"What the district has done has applied it in a way that some places do but that's not necessarily how I would apply the increases," Muir said.

Muir claims 75 percent of Saucon Valley teachers are paid below the county average and, in some cases, below every school district. He wants to renegotiate the salary schedule in a manner that brings those teachers up to par with their peers.

The current schedule requires teachers to earn advanced degrees to start making more money, Muir said. Changing the schedule will address the board's concerns about teachers racking up graduate education credits for pay increases, he said. Money saved on tuition payments could be reallocated for raises.

"We need to talk about how we are going to allocate the money," Muir said. "If the board is really concerned with tuition and movement we have to address the lower ends of the schedule."

"The ongoing PR efforts are not helping things," he said. "They are making things worse. The spin tactics don't work. No one believes Saucon Valley is in financial trouble."

The Saucon Valley School Board created salary schedules to show what teachers would be paid under their latest contract proposal versus their prior proposal. This graph shows the difference in pay for hypothetical teachers under each contract proposal. Hover over the points for specific numbers. If you are in a Firefox browser and having trouble seeing the chart, view it here.